Bicycles in Copenhagen

I’m in Copenhagen for a few days, attending conference on traffic safety. The weather is lovely, looks like summer has arrived early this year. Walking past Tivoli, I’m tempted to forgo my meeting. The magic lights and atmosphere of a bygone era – luckily not entirely bygone in Copenhagen – is very alluring. They’ve added a shop, I see, all about teddy bears.

Bicycles in Copenhagen

What never ceases to amaze me is the sheer number of bicycles in Copenhagen. Walking to the conference centre every morning, they seem as numerous as the cars passing me. This is a major means of transportation – by bike is how you go to school, to work, to the shops…

Hardly anyone wear helmets. Introducing legislation requiring everyone to wear helmets is currently under debate in Denmark as well as in many other countries in the area. It’s part of the current (and so far quite successful) EU-scheme to reduce traffic accidents and deaths by 50 % by 2010. Looks like the bicycle helmet issue might be a tough one here, though.